Cara Piazza, Author at Botanical Colors

Mordant Monday: How do I dye Green?

We receive a lot of questions about our favorite subject of natural dyes and two questions that I thought might be interesting to share are: – How do I dye jute or burlap? – How do I dye green? We detail information from each question and there are lots of links with how-to and recipes for further exploration! DYEING WITH JUTE Jute is a fiber from the Corchorus plant, and the largest global jute-producing region is West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh. Jute is an annual plant, rapid-growing, and produces long fibers in its stalk, similar to linen and hemp. The … Read more

Mordant Monday: A Rainbow Compilation!

We wanted to compile all of our rainbow tutorials so you could have access to them all in the same place. We love creating them for you, and seeing the beautiful creations you make with your tutorials. Tannins provide a rich base for creating a rainbow of color. Please tag us on social media so we can see what you make! Try making the rainbow yourself!

Mordant Monday: Tannin Extravaganza!

TANNIN A TIMELESS MORDANT For Today’s Mordant Monday, we are highlighting all things tannin. Tannins are a bitter and astringent compound found so abundantly in many plants. In food, they serve as the slight pucker in black coffee and tea, and the “oaky” flavor in aged wines. Tannins are used in medicine and for leather tanning. For us, they are the natural dyer’s not-so-secret-weapon to beautiful color. For the natural colorist, tannins provide a rich base for unusual and eye-catching combinations, and they’re particularly effective on plant fibers such as cotton and linen. We have a variety of tannins for … Read more

Sunday Visit: Jasen Bowes of ELSEVVHERE

We are excited to introduce you to the man behind our new offering of mordanted T-shirts and blanks. Jasen Bowes of ELSEVVHERE. Jasen Bowes is passionate when it comes to the planet, design, and food. A multi-hyphenate whose creative work is driven by a connection and commitment to the natural world, Jasen strives to highlight ways to work with materials from nature that can be recycled completely or can offer many alternative uses. He has years of fashion industry experience leading him to create a great product we’re excited to present to you. What initially drew you to the medium … Read more

Sunday Visit: Ceilidh Chaplin of BillyNou

Sunday Visit is our interview series where we sit down with a luminary, visionary and creative in the Natural dye world. We want to bring you the best of what is out there and show off all of the amazing work being done in our community. This week, we have Ceilidh Chaplin of BillyNou. Ceilidh rose to notoriety with her incredible YouTube Channel she created with her partner. She has an organic and whimsical aesthetic to her practice and takes us along on her journey. Read more to learn about her relationship to motherhood, ice dyeing and not being too … Read more

Sunday Visit: William Ingram and Jean Howe of Threads of Life Bali

A little backstory from Kathy: I’ve known Jean and William for many years through their trunk shows held in Seattle, where they’d speak about their cultural and natural dye projects in Bali as well as bring an array of incredible traditional textiles to view and purchase. From the beginning, I was impressed how they always put the weavers and communities front and center to their work. The quality and breadth of the textiles is exceptional, and the Seattle Art Museum acquired a dozen pieces for the Ikat exhibition in 2023. We’re honored and excited to work with them for this … Read more

Mordant Monday: Sneak Peek on Hand Painting Yarns and Fiber

For this MM (posting on Tuesday because what is time anyway?) we wanted to get you excited about some new mordanted yarn offerings we are launching in the upcoming weeks for the holiday season. In case you didn’t know, Kathy is an incredible yarn dyer and we wanted to share with you some of her fun tips on creating beautiful rainbow creations on yarn and fibers. With our mordanted yarn bases, you will be able to create your own color palettes and personalize yarns for your own projects! Getting started We will offer detailed instructions for basic yarn painting once … Read more

Mordant Monday: Dyes of The Américas

One of the first dyes that I ever encountered was cochineal, and although I was surprised that it came from an insect, I was also in love with its beautiful color. Cochineal was the most important natural dye to originate from Oaxacan indigenous culture that still has great value and a global impact today. When Spanish colonizers realized the value of this dye, they created plantations and exploited indigenous labor to process up to 300,000 pounds of cochineal for export per year. It was one of the most precious colors and brought great wealth to the Spanish crown. Being in … Read more

Sunday Visit: Britt Boles and The Art Of Pastel

Every Sunday for Sunday Visit, Botanical Colors sits down for an interview with a luminary in the natural dye, textile and art world. Grab a cup of tea and settle in to learning about someone you never knew! Catch up on all our Sunday Visits here. This week we sit down with our resident Indigo aficionado, but also pastel expert Brittany Boles of Indigo Fest. We wanted to learn more about what sparks her creativity and what drew her to making her own natural art materials. Read more below about what you can expect from her upcoming in person class on December … Read more

Sunday Visit: Kara Gilbert of Vibrant Valley Farm

Every Sunday, we sit down with someone inspiring in the Natural dye world. This week, we meet with a Sunday Visit veteran, Kara Gilbert of Vibrant Valley Farm . Vibrant Valley Farm is a group of dedicated farmers committed to exploring innovative solutions to enliven the current food, floral and fiber systems. Vibrant Valley Farm is also the muscle behind the marigolds we sell on Botanical Colors, and the mastermind behind our new indigo product Vibrant Valley Blue Paste. Located on Sauvie Island, just outside of Portland, Oregon, Vibrant Valley Farm has been committed to exploring innovative solutions to enliven the current … Read more